Heavy Metal

"What's going on? Are we really free?"

"Yes, everyone, don't worry. You are all free now. The evil humans are gone."

Rusty moved from wagon to wagon, tearing open locks and bending bars as if they were made of soft tin. Each time a cage opened, another group of elves stepped out slowly, uncertain whether the nightmare had truly ended. Some collapsed the moment their feet touched the ground. Others simply stared at the forest around them, as though they had forgotten what freedom looked like.

"W-what are we going to do now?"

"I don't know…"

"Where are we? How will we get home?"

"My home doesn't exist anymore. They killed everyone."

He listened to the conversations among the captured elves as they were freed. Some sounded relieved. Others sounded completely lost. One young elf sat on the ground with his back against a wagon wheel, staring blankly at his hands.

"They burned the village. I watched it happen."

From what he could tell, there were fifteen people freed from the cages, and all of them were some type of elves. Some had longer ears than the others, and their skin came in different shades, but they all seemed to belong to the same race. He had no idea what the humans had planned to do with them, but his summoner wanted them protected, so for the time being, that was his mission.

"What are these metal spirits?"

Eventually, everyone began looking at Rusty and the other living armors moving around. It seemed these elves did not name things the same way humans did. The mercenaries had identified him as a living armor monster, but to them, he was some kind of spirit controlling metal.

"Do not worry. These spirits will not harm you. They are here to help."

Teral drew their attention to himself. Rusty was not sure how old the youth was, but he looked like a fifteen-year-old human boy. To his knowledge, elves lived much longer than humans, so perhaps he was older than he appeared. His demeanor had changed since the last time Rusty had seen him. Now he seemed more mature, like someone who had begun forming a plan.

"Do not be afraid. There is a place where we can stay for now. A place the humans do not know about."

The freed elves murmured among themselves. Uncertainty remained, but a fragile hope began to creep into their voices.

"A place? Is there somewhere we could be safe?"

One of them asked the question weakly. It was clear that these lands did not belong to them and were controlled by humans, if even wandering mercenaries roamed the area.

Rusty wanted to understand more about this place so he could properly fulfill his mission. He had been ordered to help Teral continue his vengeance, but he was not sure where that path would lead next. The people who had directly killed the boy's parents were already dead. Perhaps the next target would be the one who had ordered the massacre.

"Where? The humans hunt everywhere. They have gone crazy with power!"

"There is a place half a day's walk from here. We will be safe there."

His summoner straightened, as some of his mana had finally returned to him. At first, he looked awkward, but the recent tragedy seemed to have forced him to mature. Even though his words were shaky, his gaze was steady, as if a strong will burned deep inside him.

"S-should we go?"

"Can we trust him? What about those strange spirits?"

The group of fifteen elves began talking among themselves. They started to divide, and some even chose to leave on their own.

"S-sorry, but…"

One adult male apologized before running out into the forest, and a few others followed. Teral stretched out his hand in surprise, but even when he shouted and warned them, many did not listen.

"W-wait, it is not safe in the forest. Those humans will send out sentries eventually!"

As he shouted, a few looked back, but they finally decided to try their luck. Just as he was about to shout again, a soft hand grabbed Teral's shoulder.

"Leave them. They made their decision."

It was the woman who had been protecting the old man they had given the recovery potion to. He was standing beside her now, using a stick as a cane to support himself. The man looked quite old, and after a moment, he spoke.

"I must thank you. My granddaughter and I owe you a great debt, child. No, young spirit channeler."

Teral blinked in confusion.

"A spirit channeler?"

The old elf nodded slowly, leaning more heavily on his wooden staff as he studied Rusty and the scattered pieces of broken cages around the clearing.

"Yes. Those who can call spirits into the world of matter. It is a rare gift among our people."

"A spirit channeler? That is a new one. Where I come from, we just call people like you summoners."

Rusty interrupted the conversation he had been listening to while moving through the slavers' temporary encampment. He had already noticed several useful items, including weapons and food that the elves could use. His goal was always to earn more points for his mission, and if he needed to protect these people, it was best to gather as many rations as possible.

"Oh? Is that spirit talking to you?"

"Ah? Y-yes."

The elderly elf seemed to notice that Teral had glanced in Rusty's direction for a moment.

"That metal spirit looks different from the others."

"It is."

The elder and the young woman both glanced toward Rusty. He stopped, turned to face them, and gave a small wave, which made them step back in surprise.

"Grandpa, that spirit is highly intelligent. Could it be a free spirit?"

"It's possible. It seems to be acting on its own, separate from its spirit master. Intriguing."

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

It was easy to see that Rusty was different from the regular living armor summons. Those simply stood in place and waited for orders before carrying them out. Unless Teral told them to do something, they did not react. Rusty, on the other hand, was his own being. He moved independently, and after watching him for a while, it became obvious to everyone.

"Elder seems to know a lot about these things."

Teral spoke to the old man with a great deal of respect. It was clear that he himself was not very experienced with spirits.

"It is something I have come across in my life. But it would be best for us to leave this place first, child, before the humans return."

The old man ended the conversation as he looked around. Of the fifteen people they had rescued, about half had already decided to move on their own, while the rest remained behind.

"We should. Those treacherous humans will not let this end so easily."

The young woman nodded as she picked up a bow along with several arrows to arm herself. Soon, the other elves followed her example. Some took spears and swords as they finally prepared to move. Teral used the other living armors to help carry some of the supplies, and before long, they made their way back into the forest.

"How should I address you, elder? I'm Teral. I come from…"

As they walked, the elves began to speak quietly among themselves. The old man and the young woman naturally moved toward the center of the group, and before long everyone seemed to be listening to them and to Teral.

"You do not need to say it, child, if it brings back painful memories."

The old man spoke after Teral stopped himself from naming the village he came from. It was clear that the tragedy from that day was still fresh in his heart.

"You may call me Eldrin. I once served as a lorekeeper in a forest enclave far to the west, though I fear that place may no longer exist."

"And I'm Lethira."

The young woman added while holding her bow with the ease of someone who had trained with it for years.

"His granddaughter, and a huntress."

Teral nodded to both of them, grateful that someone older was helping steady the frightened group. The forest around them had grown quiet again. The only sounds were their footsteps and the creaking of the walking metal armors, while Rusty's form moved without making a sound.

Rusty walked a short distance ahead, his halberd resting over one shoulder. To the others, he probably looked like a silent guardian spirit patrolling the path, but inside, he was thinking about the situation.

'Hm, I gain more summoner coins the longer I stay with my summoner. Perhaps taking it easy for a while could be the right move?'

While the situation of the elven survivors was dire, to Rusty, most of them were little more than resource points. He had a mission to complete and more coins to earn. However, even after doing things like this multiple times, he still had not figured out the best way to gain these resources. The encounter with the Necromancer made that clear. Even after kidnapping him, Rusty had still gained a large number of coins.

That was not all he was doing, though. The elves were talking quite a lot, and through their conversations, he learned a great deal about what was happening in this region.

The area they were traveling through was known to the elves as the great green forests of Vusmera. It was a land where many wood elf villages had once been built, only to be sacked by the humans who had recently invaded.

Beyond the forest lay other regions as well. There were high, snow-covered peaks where some snow elves resided, and underground domains inhabited by the dark elves. Many different tribes lived throughout these lands, and all of them had been targeted by the recent attacks.

"But why would they attack us now? The wars ended many years ago…"

Teral asked the question while clenching his fists.

"That is indeed a mystery. I remember a time when all our races stood together to battle the great evils that plagued our lands. We had finally achieved peace."

Rusty found himself wondering the same thing. Was it simply something in the nature of these humans, or was there more behind it? He did not know, but eventually the reason would reveal itself.

"We are here, everyone."

At last, they arrived at the place Teral had mentioned.

"Here? But there is nothing here."

"It looks that way at first glance, but there is a trick to it."

The young wood elf spoke confidently as he approached a wall covered in weeds and tangled branches. It appeared to be nothing more than part of the forest, but after reaching into the dried plants, a quiet clicking sound echoed from within, and a hidden mechanism activated.

An opening slowly emerged, reminding Rusty of the thieves' guild entrance he had seen before. The vines trembled as something shifted beneath them. Branches scraped aside with a dry sound as a section of the wall slid to the side, revealing a narrow passage in the hillside. It was just wide enough for two people to pass through at once.

The stone edges around the entrance had clearly been cut long ago, though time and moss had softened the marks. Whoever built this place had wanted it well hidden. The elves behind Teral stared in amazement.

"A hidden entrance…"

"A cave?"

"Yes, we should go inside. We will be safe there."

Teral urged everyone to move. Some of the elves hesitated, but the old man spoke to them to give them some assurance.

"Fear not. Teral has his heart in the right place. Let us put our faith in him."

"Grandpa is right. Let's go. Why would he save us from those humans just to harm us now?"

Lethira helped her grandfather forward first, carefully guiding him through the narrow passage. One by one, the other elves followed. The moment Rusty stepped inside, the temperature dropped noticeably.

The entrance sloped downward into darkness. Fortunately, elves seemed able to see fairly well even in dim light, and several of them quickly lit small oil lamps they had taken from the slaver camp. As the faint glow spread, the interior of the cave revealed itself. It was not only a cave but part of a tunnel network.

Old wooden supports held sections of the ceiling in place. Rusty noticed crude storage alcoves carved into the stone walls. Rusted hooks and chains had been embedded into the rock.

'Bandits… or smugglers.'

He thought before moving on. The place had clearly been used by outlaws at some point. They continued deeper, the narrow entrance tunnel opening into a wider chamber. Footsteps echoed off the walls as the group finally approached the main chamber of the hideout.

There was light at the end of the final tunnel, and Rusty was moving at the front. As he stepped forward, he suddenly stopped when he spotted something. A thin wire stretched across the passage, nearly invisible to the naked eye. When he traced it with his visor, he saw that it connected to a cluster of bells and scraps of metal.

"What is this? A trap?"

"Oh, that's just something to help us hear when someone is coming."

Teral explained as he casually stepped forward and nudged the contraption with his foot. The bells and metal pieces clattered together, producing a sharp ringing sound.

"Who goes there?"

Voices immediately echoed from the main chamber, where some light was coming from. They varied in tone. Some sounded suspicious, others frightened or angry. The scraping of weapons being drawn was unmistakable, which made Rusty tense for battle. However, Teral quickly began waving his arms in panic.

"No, great spirit. These are my people. Please do not hurt them."

"Oh…"

They moved forward and finally saw the people inside. Just as Teral had said, the hideout was occupied by more elves. They varied in age, though most seemed fairly young.

The tunnel opened into a wide underground cavern. Crude living spaces had been carved along the edges of the cave. Old bandit crates had been repurposed into tables. Piles of furs and cloaks served as beds, and a small cooking fire burned in a pit surrounded by stones. Smoke drifted upward toward a narrow natural vent in the ceiling.

What stood out most, however, was the number of eyes staring at them. Nearly two dozen elves were scattered throughout the chamber. Bows were drawn, spears raised, and a few iron swords trembled in nervous hands. For a moment, the entire cave fell silent except for the crackling of the fire.

"Teral?"

"Yes, it's me. I'm back, and I brought more of our people with me."

One of the elves stepped forward. He looked about the same age as Teral, tall and thin, with long, copper-colored hair tied behind his back. His bow was half drawn, but once he recognized who it was, he lowered it.

"Teral… you came back?"

"I told you I would!"

Teral said, breathless from the journey.

"Thank the spirits. I thought you'd never come back."

Rusty said nothing as the two groups met. For him, not much time had passed. While this place was shoddy, it had probably taken Teral quite a while to gather everyone and start his small operation. He seemed to be attacking slave shipments in this area and slowly freeing other elves, but Rusty was not sure if that was all it was meant to be. The mission was about vengeance, and when someone pursued something like that, attacks were usually part of it.